I‘ve started brewing some 1 gallon batches and I didn’t use the whole bag of hops. I stored two opened bags of hops in Ziploc bags and left them with the brewing equipment at room temperature. It’s been two weeks now since they were stored. Will these hops still be good? I appreciate any input. Thanks
Hops lifespan at room temperature.
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After 2 weeks they will be fine. Recommend placing in the freezer, or at least the fridge until you use them.
Look on-line and you can find the HSI (Hop Stability Index) for the particular hops that you have. I think 50% is the highest there is (I've not seen any higher). 50% means the hops will lose 50% of the alfa acids in 6 months when left open at 70 F. I assume there is a similar loss of the other acids too. Basically if you leave them out in the open for 6 months, you should then use twice the amount of hops.
A lot of hops have a lower HSI than 50%.
Colder temps and restricting O2 (like vacuum packing) considerably improve storage time.
Look on-line and you can find the HSI (Hop Stability Index) for the particular hops that you have. I think 50% is the highest there is (I've not seen any higher). 50% means the hops will lose 50% of the alfa acids in 6 months when left open at 70 F. I assume there is a similar loss of the other acids too. Basically if you leave them out in the open for 6 months, you should then use twice the amount of hops.
A lot of hops have a lower HSI than 50%.
Colder temps and restricting O2 (like vacuum packing) considerably improve storage time.
Anectdote: I discovered some hops still on the vines in the spring. Expecting them to be bad from exposure to the weather for so long, I crushed a few and sniffed. They still smelled fresh. YMMV
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If they look and smell as good as when first opened then give them a try. How long they'll be good depends on too many variables.
The original (mylar, or multilayer Oxygen-barrier) bags the hops come in are best for storage.
After opening and use, just fold the flap over a few times while squeezing out as much air as you can, then tape the flap shut to the body of the bag. It should be a nice, compact "rolled up" package. Put that back into your freezer.
Keeping all those (re)sealed hop bags inside a ziplock bag is fine, but the mylar (or O2-barrier) bags do the work of keeping oxygen (air) out.
Thanks for the reply. They didn’t smell as good as when they were first opened and one of the bags smelled a little funky. I ended up throwing away both to be safe.
